20200137 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20200224

1�1 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 0
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
February 24, 2020
Mr. David Brown
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: 3825 Reserve Road
UT to Williamson Creek, Transylvania County
Dear Mr. Brown:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to lengthen an existing culvert, permanently impacting 30 ft of an unnamed tributary
(UT) to Williamson Creek in Transylvania County. Our comments on this application are
offered for your consideration under provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 466
et. seq.) and Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-
667d).
Wild Rainbow Trout are found in the project vicinity and in -stream work should be avoided
during the trout moratorium of January 1 to April 15 to minimize impacts to trout spawning.
We offer the following recommendations for the project to minimize impacts to fish and wildlife
resources:
1. In -stream work should be avoided between January 1 and April 15 to minimize impacts to
Rainbow Trout spawning.
2. Work should be accomplished as quickly as possible and vigilance used in sediment and
erosion control during site preparation, construction, and clean up. Disturbed areas should be
seeded, mulched and/or matted as soon as possible, preferably at the end of each work day.
3. A native riparian seed mix and native shrubs and trees should be used to permanently
stabilize disturbed stream areas.
4. Any matting used on site should be free of nylon mesh; nylon mesh netting frequently
entangles wildlife and is slow to degrade, resulting in a hazard that may last for years.
5. No information is provided on culvert material to be used. We recommend against using
HDPE material, as this slick material is less likely to hold stream substrate and provide for
movement of aquatic organisms like fish and salamanders.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

3825 Reserve Road Page 2 February 24, 2020
UT Williamson Creek, Transylvania County
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at
[phone] if you have any questions about these comments.
Sincerely,
Andrea Leslie
Mountain Region Coordinator, Habitat Conservation Program
ec: Anna Priest, Clearwater Environmental
Andrew Moore, NC Division of Water Resources